Improvement in cotton-seed planters



UNITED STATES ifrrIcE.

ATENT IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-SEED PLANTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 3Lll0, dated January 15, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL HERLoNG, of Sandy Ridge, in the county of Lowndes and State ot' Alabama, have invented a new and Improved Cotton-Seed Planter; and I do hereby declaie that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ot' the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, makinga part vof this specification, in which- Figure lis a longitudinal section of my invention, taken in the line .t x, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a horizontal section of the sanie,takenin the line y y, Fig. 1. y

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures.

.This invention consists in a novel and improved means for distributing the seed or discharging it from the hopper, whereby a uniform discharge of seed is insured and the seeddistributing device made to opera-te very evenly or regularly.

To enable those skilled in the' art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A A represent the side pieces, the back ends Vof which are connected by a traverse-bar, a,

and B` is ahopper or seed-box, which is tirmly secured between the front parts ot' the side pieces.

C C are two handles, which are attached to the back parts ofthe side pieces, A A, and D is a wheel, which is placed between the side pieces, A A, just back of the hopper or seedbox B, the axle b ot said wheel having its bearings in the side pieces.

'Io each side of the wheel D there are attached pins c. rIhese pins project horizontally from the wheel, and the pins at one side ofit are in line with the centers of the spaces between the pins at the other side, as indicated clcarlyin Fig. 1, the dotted circles showing the position of the pins at the back side of the wheel.

E E are uprlghts, which are secured one to veach side piece A, and to each upright aspring,

F, is attached, said springs projecting down at the inner sides ot' the side pieces, A A, so that their lower parts will extend within the paths of the movement ofthe pins c.

To the lower end of each spring F there is attached by a joint, d, a pawl, G. These pawls enga-ge with ratchets H H, which are on a shaft, I, that passes transversely through the bottoni ot' the hopper or seed-box B, and is provided with radial teeth c, which are within the hopper B, theratchets H being at the outer side of the hopper, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. In the bottom f of the hopper or seed-box there is made a rectangular opening, g, which has a metal bar, l1, at each side of it.

To the front part of' the machine a furrow share, J, is attached, and a coverer, K, is secured to the back part of the machine. rIhe coverer is formed of a segment bar, h, attached to the lower. ends of swinging rods t' t', which are connected to thesidepieces, vA A, as shown atj.

Ihe operation is as follows: The seed is placed in the hopper or seed-box B, and, as the machine is drawn along the pins c of the wheel D strike the springs F F, the latterlbeing alternately acted upon, owing to the relative position of the pins at both sides of the wheel; andthe shaft I is rotated by the action ot the pawls G upon the ratchets Il H. As the shaft I rotates the teeth c discharge the seed from the hopper, forcing them out and insuring a uniform discharge of the seed. By the arrangement of the two pawls and ratchets with the pins c the shaft I is rotated continually, one pawl actuating its ratchet while the other is being drawn back. ratchets insure a proper or equal. movement of the shaft I. Belts are liable to slip, and gearing is objectionable, on account of its being exposed and the number of wheels which would be necessarily required to form a connection between the shaft I and the axle b ot' the wheel D.

I am aware that teeth e have been applied to rotatingshafts Iand arranged, substantially as hereinafter shown and described, to discharge cotton-seed from hoppers, and I do not claim broadly such device; but

I do claim as new and desire to secure by Letters PatentrIhe combination of' the pins c onr wheel D, the springs F F, pawls G G, ratchets H H, and toothed shaft I, the latter placed within the hopper B, and all arranged forjoint operation as and for the purpose herein set forth.

DANIEL HERLONG.

Witnesses:

R. HENRY WILLIAMS, FOSTER C. WEBB.

The pawls and 

